A 36-year-old man has undergone the world’s first successful head transplant. The ground-breaking operation took a team of surgeons 19 hours to complete and has allowed the patient to be cancer-free. Paul Horner, who was diagnosed with bone cancer five years ago, was on the verge of death when he was approved for the controversial and possibly deadly operation.
Doctor Tom Downey, who was part of the South African team who carried out the operation, told CNN he is thrilled about the results. “It’s a massive breakthrough. We’ve proved that it can be done – we can give someone a brand new body that is just as good, or better, than their previous one.
The success of this operation leads
to infinite possibilities.”
Surgeons at Charlotte Maxexe Johannesburg Academic Hospital in SA did the operation in February but had to wait until they could confirm it was successful before they made any public statement.
Downey spoke to reporters on the
complexity behind the first ever head transplant. “This procedure is another
excellent example of how medical research, technical know-how and patient-centred
care can be combined in the quest to relieve human suffering.”
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